Method and system for establishing a secure communication channel

ABSTRACT

A first terminal initiates a communication session with a second terminal by sending a first session request to a server for initiating a communication channel with the second terminal, receiving a first session response from the server, said first response including an identifier for a session channel and data relevant to the second terminal, sending a second session request to the second terminal including an identifier for the first terminal, receiving a third session response from the second terminal, and establishing a connection over the session channel.

CO-EXISTING RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

This application is filed concurrently with the applications titled asper below and filed by the same applicant. Details on specific issues inthe various patent applications are to be considered as incorporatedinto each one of the other related patent applications.

The related patent applications are titled:

IMPROVED INSTALLATION OF A TERMINAL IN A SECURE SYSTEM;

GENERATING A SYMMETRIC ENCRYPTION KEY;

MUTUAL AUTHENTICATION; and

IMPROVED SECURITY THROUGH AUTHENTICATION TOKENS.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This application relates to a system, a method, an apparatus and acomputer-readable storage medium for improved security and safety, andin particular to a system, a method, an apparatus and acomputer-readable storage medium for establishing a secure communicationchannel.

BACKGROUND

In today's society digital communication is ever increasing and mostpeople feel comfortable performing tasks such as managing their bankaccounts, declaring their income, or exchanging other secret informationusing the Internet. In order to perform such tasks while maintaining asatisfactory level of security many different security solutions, basedon encryption, have been suggested. Most such solutions involve sometype of public key and private key and a user has to share his publickey before a secure communication may be established with another party.In cryptography, a key may be seen as a piece of information thatdetermines a functional output of a cryptographic algorithm.

It is often said that in designing security systems, it is wise toassume that the details of a cryptographic algorithm may already beavailable to an attacker. This principle is known as Kerckhoffs'principle and thus it is only the secrecy of the key that providessecurity. This principle is based on the fact that it is difficult tokeep the details of a widely-used algorithm secret. A key is ofteneasier to protect, since it is often a small piece of informationcompared to the encryption algorithm. However, it may also be difficultto keep the key a secret. If the attacker obtains the key in some way heor she may recover the original message from the encrypted data.

Encryption algorithms which use the same key for both encryption anddecryption are known as symmetric encryption key algorithms. There arealso asymmetric encryption key algorithms which use a pair of keys, oneto encrypt and one to decrypt. These asymmetric encryption keyalgorithms allow one key to be made public while retaining the privatekey in only one location. The asymmetric encryption keys are designed sothat finding out the private key is extremely difficult, even if thecorresponding public key is known. A user can publish his or her publickey, while keeping the private key secret, allowing anyone to send theman encrypted message.

In order for a key to be “safe” in conjunction with symmetric encryptionalgorithms a length of 80 bits is generally considered the minimum and128-bit keys are commonly used and considered to be very strong. Thekeys used in public key cryptography have some mathematical structure.For example, public keys used in the RSA system are the product of twoprime numbers. Thus public key systems require longer key lengths thansymmetric systems for an equivalent level of security. 3072 bits is thesuggested key length for systems based on factoring and integer discretelogarithms which aim to have security equivalent to a 128 bit symmetriccipher.

As mentioned above it is possible to generate keys with a high degree ofsecurity, if they are long enough both for keys based on symmetric andasymmetric algorithms. However, there may be a problem in keydistribution. If, for example two parties want to communicate with eachother using symmetric cryptography they first have to decide what key touse and then safely distribute it from one party to the other.Furthermore, the key has to be kept secret by both parties. The riskthat an intruder may find out the key increases with the time the key isin use. Therefore, a key is normally valid only during a limited time,for example six or twelve months. After this time a new key has to bedistributed.

Also, the distribution of keys for asymmetric cryptography encryptionencounters problems with key distribution when two parties want tocommunicate with each other. In order to send information in bothdirections they generally need to exchange public keys with each other.Also in this case the keys usually have a limited time period duringwhich they are valid. For a party that communicates with many differentparties the management and distribution of valid public keys may beannoying. A typical example is when the validity of a key has expiredwhen you need to send some secret information urgently to another partyor that you have not yet exchanged public keys.

One solution is provided in WO 2011/002412 which discloses a method forgenerating an encryption/decryption key, and especially for generating aone-time encryption/decryption key used for symmetric encryption, i.e.where the same key is used both for encryption and decryption. In orderto start key generation, a first terminal (A) sends a request to acentral server (2) for setting up communication with a second terminal(B). The central server (2) sends a key generating file to bothterminals (i.e. terminals A and B). Each terminal generates a differentintermediate data set, i.e. a first and second data set. The first dataset generated by the first terminal (A) is sent to the second terminal(B), which generates, based on this data set, a third data set which issent back to the first terminal. The generation of a first cryptographickey in terminal (A) is based on a bit by bit comparison between thethird and the first intermediate data set and the generation of a secondcryptographic key is based on a bit by bit comparison between the firstand the second intermediate data set. The first and second cryptographickeys are the same.

Although this manner has many advantages, it may offer challenges whenimplemented in systems having firewalls or other similar securitymeasures. Given the above mentioned challenges the inventors haverealized that there is a need for a method with which it is possible fortwo parties to communicate in a secure way with each other withoutnecessarily having to exchange keys with each other beforehand and whichmay be used in systems employing firewalls or other similar securitymeasures.

Accordingly, there is thus a need for improved handling of theencryption keys.

SUMMARY

It is an object of the teachings of this application to overcome theproblems listed above by providing a system comprising a first terminaland a second terminal, wherein the first terminal is configured toinitiate a communication session with the second terminal by sending afirst session request to a server for initiating a communication channelwith the second terminal, receiving a first session response from theserver, said first response including an identifier for a sessionchannel and data relevant to the second terminal, sending a secondsession request to the second terminal including an identifier for thefirst terminal, receiving a third session response from the secondterminal, and establishing a connection over the session channel,wherein the second terminal is configured for: receiving the secondsession request from the first terminal, sending a third session requestto the server for initiating a communication channel with said firstterminal, receiving a second session response from the server, saidsecond response including the identifier for the session channel anddata relevant to the first terminal, sending said third session responseto the first terminal, and establish a connection over the sessionchannel, whereby a communication channel is established between thefirst and the second terminal over the session channel.

It is also an object of the teachings of this application to overcomethe problems listed above by providing a method for establishing asecure communication channel in a system comprising a first terminal anda second terminal, wherein the method comprises the first terminalsending a first session request to a server for initiating acommunication channel with the second terminal; the first terminalreceiving a first session response from the server, said first responseincluding an identifier for a session channel and data relevant to thesecond terminal; the first terminal sending a second session request tothe second terminal including an identifier for the first terminal; thesecond terminal receiving the second session request from the firstterminal; the second terminal sending a third session request to theserver for initiating a communication channel with said first terminal;the second terminal receiving a second session response from the server,said second response including the identifier for the session channeland data relevant to the first terminal; the second terminal sendingsaid third session response to the first terminal; the first terminalreceiving a third session response from the second terminal; and thefirst terminal establishing a connection over the session channel andthe second terminal establishing a connection over the session channel,whereby a communication channel is established between the first and thesecond terminal over the session channel.

It is also an object of the teachings of this application to overcomethe problems listed above by providing a computer readable storagemedium encoded with instructions that, when executed on a processor,performs the method according to above.

The teachings herein find use in systems for ensuring a secureconnection, such as banking applications, but also in systems where onedevice needs to be authenticated to other devices, such as an externalmemory being connected to a computer.

Other features and advantages of the disclosed embodiments will appearfrom the following detailed disclosure, from the attached dependentclaims as well as from the drawings.

Generally, all terms used in the claims are to be interpreted accordingto their ordinary meaning in the technical field, unless explicitlydefined otherwise herein. All references to “a/an/the [element, device,component, means, step, etc]” are to be interpreted openly as referringto at least one instance of the element, device, component, means, step,etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise. The steps of any methoddisclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact orderdisclosed, unless explicitly stated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The invention will be described in further detail with reference to theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a terminal according to the teachingsherein;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the components of a terminal according tothe teachings herein;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a general view of a computer networkaccording to the teachings herein;

FIG. 4 shows a schematic view of a computer-readable medium according toone embodiment of the teachings of this application;

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart for a method according to the teachings hereinfor establishing a communication channel between a first terminal and asecond terminal in a system;

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart for a method according to the teachings hereinfor installing a terminal in a system;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a general method for mutual authentication of aterminal and a server according to the teachings herein;

FIG. 8 is a schematic overview of the authentication transmissions beingdone during a mutual authentication according to the teachings herein;

FIG. 9 shows an example of a meta data string and a correspondingauthentication token according to an embodiment of the teachings herein;

FIG. 10A shows a general flowchart for generating an authenticationtoken according to the teachings herein;

FIG. 10B shows a general flowchart for authenticating an authenticationtoken according to the teachings herein;

FIG. 11 shows a flowchart for a method of generating a symmetricencryption key according to the teachings herein;

FIG. 12 is a schematic overview of the transmissions being done duringthe generation of a symmetric encryption key according to the teachingsherein;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart for a general method according to herein forgenerating a processing file from the key data for two terminalsaccording to the teachings herein;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of a manner of generating the symmetricencryption key according to the teachings herein; and

FIG. 15 shows a schematic overview of the system communication accordingto the teachings herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The disclosed embodiments will now be described more fully hereinafterwith reference to the accompanying drawings, in which certainembodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, beembodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limitedto the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments areprovided by way of example so that this disclosure will be thorough andcomplete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to thoseskilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

FIG. 1 shows a communications apparatus 100 according to an embodimentherein. In one embodiment the communication apparatus 100 is configuredfor network communication, either wireless or wired. In one embodimentthe communication apparatus 100 is configured for network communication,both wireless and wired. Examples of such a communication apparatus 100are: a personal computer, desktop or laptop, an internet tablet, amobile telephone, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant, a server,electronic key, machine-to-machine device (M2M) and a work station toname a few.

The communication apparatus 100 will hereafter be exemplified anddescribed as being a personal computer 100. The personal computer orterminal 100 comprises a display 110 and a housing 120. The housingcomprises a controller or CPU (not shown) and one or morecomputer-readable storage mediums (not shown), such as storage units andinternal memory. Examples of storage units are disk drives or harddrives. The terminal 100 further comprises at least one data port. Dataports can be wired and/or wireless. Examples of data ports are USB(Universal Serial Bus) ports, Ethernet ports or WiFi (according to IEEEstandard 802.11) ports. Data ports are configured to enable a terminal100 to connect with other terminals or a server.

The terminal 100 further comprises at least one input unit such as akeyboard 130. Other examples of input units are computer mouse, touchpads, touch screens or joysticks to name a few.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic view of a general structure of a computingdevice. The computing device may be a communication apparatus as in FIG.1 or a server. In one embodiment the computing device is a computingapparatus as will be discussed in further detail below. In thedescription below the computing device will be disclosed as being aterminal according to FIG. 1. The terminal 100 comprises a controller210 which is responsible for the overall operation of the terminal 100and is preferably implemented by any commercially available CPU(“Central Processing Unit”), DSP (“Digital Signal Processor”) or anyother electronic programmable logic device. The controller 210 may beimplemented using instructions that enable hardware functionality, forexample, by using executable computer program instructions in ageneral-purpose or special-purpose processor that may be stored on acomputer readable storage medium (disk, memory etc) 240 to be executedby such a processor. The controller 210 is configured to readinstructions from the memory 240 and execute these instructions tocontrol the operation of the terminal 100. The memory 240 may beimplemented using any commonly known technology for computer-readablememories such as ROM, RAM, SRAM, DRAM, CMOS, FLASH, DDR, EEPROM memory,flash memory, hard drive, optical storage or any combination thereof.

The terminal 100 may also be connected to an external device such as anexternal memory 245, possibly in the form of a USB stick (UniversalSerial Bus) or an external harddrive. Upon connecting such an externaldevice to a terminal, then being an apparatus comprising the terminaland an external terminal or device 245. Any driver update or downloadthat needs to be effected to enable the external device to cooperatewith the terminal 100 may be performed by a driver application executedin the controller or by another controller not shown.

The terminal 100 further comprises one or more applications 250. Theapplications are sets of instructions that when executed by thecontroller 210 control the operation of the terminal 100. The memory 240is used for various purposes by the controller 210, one of them beingfor storing application data and program instructions 250 for varioussoftware modules in the terminal 100. The software modules include areal-time operating system, drivers for a man-machine interface 220, anapplication handler as well as various applications 250. Theapplications 250 can include a messaging application such as electronicmail, a browsing application, a banking application, as well as variousother applications 250.

The terminal 100 may further comprise a user interface 220, which in theterminal 100 of FIG. 1, is comprised of the display 110, the keypad 130.The display 110 may be a touch display upon which virtual keys (notshown) may be displayed and operated. Such virtual keys may replace anyor all of the physical keys 130 and no difference will be made herein ifnot explicitly stated.

The user interface (UI) 220 also includes one or more hardwarecontrollers, which together with the UI drivers cooperate with thedisplay 110, keypad 130, as well as various other I/O devices such assound system, LED indicator, etc. As is commonly known, the user mayoperate the terminal 100 through the man-machine interface thus formed.

The terminal 100 may further comprise a radio frequency interface 230,which is adapted to allow the terminal to communicate with other devicesthrough a radio frequency band through the use of different radiofrequency technologies. Examples of such technologies are WIFI,Bluetooth®, W-CDMA, GSM, UTRAN, LTE, NMT to name a few.

The terminal 100 may further comprise a wired interface 235, which isadapted to allow the terminal to communicate with other devices throughthe use of different network technologies. Examples of such technologiesare USB, Ethernet, Local Area Network, TCP/IP (Transport ControlProtocol/Internet Protocol) to name a few.

The controller 210 is configured to operably execute applications 250such as the web browsing or email application through the RF interface230 and/or the wired interface 235 using software stored in the memory240 which software includes various modules, protocol stacks, drivers,etc. to provide communication services (such as transport, network andconnectivity) for the RF interface 230 and the wired interface 235, andoptionally a Bluetooth interface and/or an IrDA interface for localconnectivity. The RF interface 230 comprises an internal or externalantenna as well as appropriate radio circuitry for establishing andmaintaining a wireless link to a base station. As is well known to aperson skilled in the art, the radio circuitry comprises a series ofanalogue and digital electronic components, together forming a radioreceiver and transmitter. These components include, i.e., band passfilters, amplifiers, mixers, local oscillators, low pass filters, AD/DAconverters, etc.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic overview of a computer network 300 according toan embodiment herein. Two terminals 100 a, 100 b, such as the terminals100 of FIG. 1 or 2, are connected through a network or other connection330 in one example via the internet. The two terminals may be connectedthrough a wired connection or a wireless connection or any combinationof known connection methods for example through dedicated networks orconnections. In FIG. 3 there are two terminals 100 a and 100 b, of whichone is a desktop computer 100 a and the other is a smartphone 100 b. Itshould be noted that any terminal may be connected to the internet andthe number and type of terminals 100 in FIG. 3 should not be construedas limiting. The computer network 300 further comprises at least oneserver 340. In FIG. 3 only one server 340 is shown, but it should benoted that any number of servers 340 may be implemented in a computernetwork 300. Generally a server is a physical computer (a hardwaresystem) dedicated to running one or more services (as a host), to servethe needs of users of the other computers or terminals 100 a, 100 b onthe network 300. Depending on the computing service that it offers itcould be a database server, file server, mail server, print server, webserver, or other.

In one embodiment the server 340 is a web server 340. Generally, a webserver 340 can refer to either hardware (a computer) or software (acomputer application) that helps to deliver content that can be accessedthrough a mutual communication network, such as the Internet 330.

The Internet 330 is a global system of interconnected computer networksthat use the standard Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP—TransmissionControl protocol/Internet Protocol) to serve billions of usersworldwide. It is a network of networks that consists of millions ofprivate, public, academic, business, and government networks, of localto global scope, that are linked by a broad array of electronic,wireless and optical networking technologies. The Internet carries avast range of information resources and services, such as theinter-linked hypertext documents of the World Wide Web (WWW).

As would be apparent to a skilled reader, the internet is full ofpossibilities and variations of how to connect two terminals and theembodiments disclosed herein are for purely exemplary purposes andshould not be construed to be limiting.

Even if the disclosure herein is focused on communications networksbetween terminals and a server, the teachings herein may also be usedwithin an apparatus 300 for establishing a secure connection between twodevices, such as an external memory being connected to a personalcomputer. With reference to FIG. 3 a first device 100 a is then to beconnected to a second device 100 b. The communication is to beestablished over a data bus or other internal communication network, asis known to a skilled person. A server application running in one (orboth) of the devices 100 a and 100 b or alternatively in another devicenot shown such as a controller of the apparatus 30 corresponds to theserver 340 of FIG. 3. With reference to FIG. 2, such an apparatus 300may be conceived as a terminal 100 to which an external device 245 is tobe connected to. The establishment of a secure communication channel asper the teachings herein may then be effected by the controller, servingas a server possibly through a server application being executed by thecontroller 210, or by another drive controller. Possibly the server isan external security server which is contacted though a wired orwireless communication channel to handle the establishment of thecommunication exchanging addresses for the local bus or otherintra-device communication hardware.

It should be noted that an external device in this context may in oneembodiment be understood to be a device to be connected to a terminal.It may thereafter be a more or less permanent component of, and possiblyalso internal to, the terminal 100.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic view of a computer-readable medium as describedin the above. The computer-readable medium 40 is in this embodiment adata disc 40. In one embodiment the data disc 40 is a magnetic datastorage disc. The data disc 40 is configured to carry instructions 41that when loaded into a controller, such as a processor, executes amethod or procedure according to the embodiments disclosed above. Thedata disc 40 is arranged to be connected to or within and read by areading device 42, for loading the instructions into the controller. Onesuch example of a reading device 42 in combination with one (or several)data disc(s) 40 is a hard drive. It should be noted that thecomputer-readable medium can also be other mediums such as compactdiscs, digital video discs, flash memories or other memory technologiescommonly used. In such an embodiment the data disc 40 is one type of atangible computer-readable medium 40.

The instructions 41 may also be downloaded to a computer data readingdevice 44, such as a computer or other device capable of readingcomputer coded data on a computer-readable medium, by comprising theinstructions 41 in a computer-readable signal 43 which is transmittedvia a wireless (or wired) interface (for example via the Internet) tothe computer data reading device 44 for loading the instructions 41 intoa controller. In such an embodiment the computer-readable signal 43 isone type of a non-tangible computer-readable medium 40.

The instructions may be stored in a memory (not shown explicitly in FIG.4, but referenced 240 in FIG. 2) of the computer 44.

References to computer program, instructions, code etc. should beunderstood to encompass software for a programmable processor orfirmware such as, for example, the programmable content of a hardwaredevice whether instructions for a processor, or configuration settingsfor a fixed-function device, gate array or programmable logic deviceetc.

The inventors have realized that a manner similar to that of WO2011/002412 may be used also in systems using security measures such asfirewalls, if the manner is modified in a clever and insightful manner.FIG. 5 shows an overview of such a manner for establishing a mutuallysecure connection between two terminals.

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart for a method according to the teachings hereinfor establishing a communication channel between a first terminal 100 aand a second terminal 100 b in a system 300 as in FIG. 3.

Before a connection is to be established a terminal, such as either thefirst terminal 100 a and/or the second terminal 100 b of FIG. 3, isinstalled or initiated 510 in the communication network 300 for therelevant application. Such an application may be a banking application,a secure communication application, or any other application requiringthat both parties in a communication are identified. In one embodiment,such an application is when one device is to be connected to anotherdevice of an apparatus.

The installation is performed by a terminal 100 sending a request to beinstalled to a server 340. The server 340 responds by sending backinformation or data regarding key generation to the terminal 100 whichreceives the key generation data. Such key generation data is therebydistributed 515.

More details regarding the installation of a terminal 100 into thesystem 300 will be given with reference to FIG. 6.

When a first terminal 100 a has been installed, it may want to set up asecure communication with another terminal 100 b.

In one example embodiment, where the overall application is a bankingapplication, the first terminal 100 a represents the client and thesecond terminal 100 b represents the bank. The server 340 may be hostedby a mutual bank cooperation, the bank itself or a secure connectionsprovider.

In order to setup such a secure connection, the first terminal 100 ainitiates the setup by sending a first session request 520 to the server340. The first session request includes an identifier for the secondterminal 100 b with which the first terminal wants to setup acommunication with. The identifier for the channel data may in oneembodiment be an address (such as a uniform resource locator address(URL) or Internet Protocol (IP) address) to an internet protocolcommunication channel.

The server 340 initiates or establishes a session channel 530 andresponds with a first session response 535 indicating an identifier forthe session channel and key data for the second terminal 100 b, which isreceived by the first terminal 100 a. The first terminal 100 a thensends a second session request to the second terminal 100 b. The secondsession request includes the identity of the first terminal 100 a and akey encryption seed for the first terminal 100 a.

As the second terminal 100 b receives the second session request fromthe first terminal 100 a, the second terminal 100 b sends a thirdsession request 550 to the server 340. The third session requestincludes an identifier for the first terminal 100 a and/or an identifierfor the current session. The server 340 determines whether the firstterminal 100 a is allowed to connect with the second terminal 100 b andif so sends a second session response 560 to the second terminal 100 b,wherein the second session response includes the identifier for thesession channel and also data regarding key creation for the firstterminal 100 a.

As the second terminal 100 b receives the second session response, thesecond terminal 100 b may be sure that the first terminal is allowed toestablish a connection with the second terminal 100 b. The secondterminal 100 b thereafter sends a third session response 570 to thefirst terminal 100 a, which third session response includes key data anda key encryption seed for terminal 100 b.

The second terminal 100 b and the first terminal 100 a thus both havereceived key data from the server 340 as well as each other's keyencryption seed. Based on this, the first terminal and the secondterminal generate 580 a symmetric encryption key for encrypting data tobe sent on the initiated session channel and a channel is therebyestablished 590.

More details on how the symmetric encryption key is generated is givenwith reference to FIGS. 12, 13 and 14.

One alternative manner of generating such a symmetric encryption key isto be found in the teachings of WO 2011/002412.

In this manner, both the first terminal 100 a and the second terminal100 b can be sure of the other terminal's identity and credibility asboth terminals have been authenticated by the server 340. The terminalsare also enabled to generate a symmetric encryption key without havingto exchange complete keys with one another and without having toexchange a complete key, such as the symmetric key, with the server 340.

Furthermore, the server is authenticated by both terminals 100 a and 100b. In prior art examples, it is only the server that authenticates theterminals, not the other way around as per the teachings herein.

More details on such mutual authentication are given with reference toFIGS. 6 and 7 under Mutual Authentication.

Note that the whole setup of the secure communication channel isperformed by active prompts from a terminal to which a response isprovided thus enabling the communication systems setup to be used insystems employing security measures such as a firewall.

Installation of a Terminal

In order to ensure that a terminal that is to be installed in the system300 is to be trusted and in order to ensure that any installation datatransmitted between the terminal and the server can not be misused by athird party, the authors of this application have designed a manner fora secure installation where the key data is not sent in full therebymaking it useless to any third party intercepting the communication.FIG. 6 shows a flowchart for a general method according to the teachingsherein for installing a terminal 100 in a system 300 as in FIG. 3.

As a terminal 100 is to be installed in the system, such as wheninstalling a terminal referenced 510 in FIG. 5, the server sets up anaccount for the terminal 100 by generating a random identificationnumber, NodeID, 511 and a random encryption key, referenced Y, 512.

The random identification number and the random encryption key is thendistributed in a safe manner to the terminal 100 to be installed. Theymay be distributed by regular mail, by email, by text message (such asshort message service (SMS) messaging, or other secure channel.

The random identification number and the random encryption key areentered 513 into the terminal 100, possibly by a user, or by (another)secure application, where they are checked to see if they are correct,possibly through the use of a checksum being part of the randomidentification number and the random encryption key.

The terminal 100 then identifies 514 itself to the server 300 throughthe random identifier, NodeID, and is thus identified by the server 340.

The server then generates two random encryption key seeds, a key dataseed and a metadata seed, commonly referred to as a data seed.

The key data seed may be of a length of for example 128 or 256 bits. Themetadata seed may be of a length of for example 128 or 256 bits.

Using these seeds, the server generates key data and metadata. The keydata is the data that is used to generate the symmetric encryption keyand the metadata is used together with or without the key data togenerate an authentication token, which is to be described furtherbelow.

The key data may be of a length of 128, 256, 512 or 1024 bits. Themetadata may be of a length of 8192 bits.

To safeguard against eavesdropping the server 340 only distributes 515the key generating seeds to the terminal 100, that is, only the key dataseed and the meta data seed are distributed to the terminal 100. Thisensures that the actual key data and the meta data are kept secret inthe server 340.

The key data and the meta data are encrypted using the random encryptionkey before being distributed to the terminal 100. And the terminal 100decrypts the key data and the meta data using the random encryption key.

The terminal 100 then generates the key data and the metadata by usingthe same function as the server 340 used. The function may bedistributed along with the random identifier and the random encryptionkey, or it may be distributed separately, wherein the random identifierand/or the random encryption key are parameters of the function, and/orthe function may be implemented in the terminal and/or server. In oneembodiment the function is a cryptographic hash function, such as aFeistel network.

Several functions for generating numbers are known and will not bediscussed in further detail herein. The only feature of importance tothe function is that it is the same function that is used by theterminal 100 as by the server 340.

The seeds are as such much smaller than the corresponding data to begenerated and the server 340 only needs to transmit the smaller seeds tothe terminal which saves bandwidth and also increases security as theseeds are worthless without the function.

The key data and the metadata are therefore generated 516 by both theserver 340 and the terminal 100.

An authentication token is generated 517 by the terminal 100 based onthe key data and/or the meta data and the authentication token is sentto the server 340 which authenticates 518 the authentication token, theserver having access to the key data and the metadata on which theauthentication token is based.

More details on how an authentication token is generated and alsoauthenticated will be given below with reference to FIGS. 10A and 10B.

If the authentication token is authenticated, an identity for theterminal 100, such as an identification, is stored in the server 340. Inone embodiment, the identification for the terminal 100 is the NodeID.In one embodiment, the identification for the terminal 100 is the IMSI(International Mobile Subscriber Identity), IMEI (International mobileEquipment Identifier) and/or serial number(s) of the terminal 100. Inone embodiment, the identification for the terminal 100 is anapplication identifier provided with an application utilizing the securecommunication channels as taught by the teachings herein.

For the embodiment where a terminal is an external device, the NodeIDfor the external device may be supplied along with the external deviceor be sent to a user or to the external device upon registration of theexternal device 245.

Mutual Authentication

As a terminal 100 a has been installed and attempts to set up acommunication channel with a second terminal 100 b, such as a bankapplication server, where the communication channel is administered by asecurity server 340, possibly being part of or implemented in the samebank server, the terminal 100 a is to be authenticated by theauthenticated by the security server 340, hereafter and as abovereferred to as the server 340. After the terminal 100 a is authenticatedby the server 340 it is provided with key data necessary forestablishing the secure communication with the second terminal 100 b.

However, in today's society many scams are run over the internet, whichis the reason for the secure communication channel. However, theinventors have realized that there is an underlying problem inherent toall such secure communication systems in that using today's advancedtechnology neither the first terminal 100 a (nor the second terminal 100b) can be sure that the server 340 is actually to be trusted. Theaddress of the server 340 may actually have been hijacked by a maliciousscam operator who may provide key data leading to an encryption whichthe scam operator may then be able decrypt.

Realizing that this problem exists and through insightful reasoning andinventive thinking, the inventors of this application have designed amanner where also the server 340 is authenticated.

For the embodiment of installing an external device 245 in an apparatus300, such as a terminal 100, such an authentication serves to protectthat sensitive data is not read by another device being part of or laterconnected to the apparatus 300 or by a replaced operating software.Therefore mutual authentication serves to protect from gaining access toa protected device simply by replacing some components (memory carryingsoftware code) or other devices.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a general method for mutual authentication of aterminal 100 and a server 340 according to the teachings herein and FIG.8 is a schematic overview of the authentication transmissions being doneduring such a mutual authentication. A detailed description of suchauthentication will be given with simultaneous reference to FIGS. 7 and8 in the below.

The first terminal 100 a initiates the authentication by generating anauthentication token AT 1-S (reference indicating that it is anauthentication token from terminal 1 to server S) and sending it 710 tothe server 340 possibly along with a session request. Alternatively, thesession request is sent after the authentication has been completedsuccessfully. It should be noted that any of the terminals 100 a, 100 bmay initiate the authentication. The server 340 may also initiate theauthentication. The server may initiate the authentication by promptingthe first terminal 100 a (or the second) to provide an authenticationtoken.

The server 340 receives the authentication token AT1-S and authenticatesit 715.

The authentication token may be an identifier (such as the NodeID) forthe terminal, possibly encrypted with the previously received randomencryption number, known only to the first terminal 100 a and the server340. The authentication token may also be another string or number knownonly to the server 340 and the terminal 100 a possibly determinedthrough a known protocol or algorithm, and may also be encrypted withthe random encryption number.

Being able to secure that the authentication is safe it is beneficial touse a large string as such are more difficult to guess. Such a string isthe meta data which is known only to the server 340 and the terminal100. A problem in this is that a large file has to be sent every timethe authentication is to be made, and as will be disclosed in the below,the meta data would also be shared with the second terminal therebyleaking the meta data to the second terminal who should not haveknowledge of the meta data for the first terminal 100 a. However, usingthe meta data would be beneficial as it is a large string that isdifficult to maliciously derive and is also known only to the server 340and the terminal 100.

The inventors have thus designed a clever and simple manner of devisingan authentication token from the meta data, wherein a plurality ofchunks or portions is chosen at random from the meta data.

Authentication Token

FIG. 9 shows an example of a meta data string MTS and a correspondingauthentication token AT. In the example of FIG. 9, the meta data stringis comprised of only 40 characters, however it should be noted that theactual length of a meta data string MTS is preferably much longer. Inone embodiment the length is 8192 bits. Furthermore, the number ofportions used in this example is four and the length of each portion is2, but in a real implementation the length of a portion should be 64-128bits, and in one embodiment the portion length is 96 bits. It should benoted that the length of a portion may vary also within anauthentication token, as may the number of portions. In an embodimentwhere the number of portions varies, a header to the authenticationtoken may be used to indicate the number of portions. In an embodimentwhere the length of one or more portions vary, a header to theauthentication token may be used to indicate the length of the portionsor, each portion may be initiated by the length of the portion.

The four portions are referenced by indexes. The indexes may be chosenrandomly or through a known function, such as a random number generator,e.g. using a seed. Examples of such a function have been given above inthe disclosure of how a terminal is installed in a system.

In such an embodiment where a seed is used for a function to generatethe indexes, only the seed may be necessary to transmit in theauthentication token.

An index should have a length that is enough to adequately address thelarger data set, i.e. the meta data string (MTS). For a meta data of8192 bits, an index has to have a length of 13 bits. An index may alsobe given as a number of steps to the next portion, wherein the indexlength can be reduced by one bit assuming that the next portion is atleast within the next half of the meta data.

The indexes or the seed may be given in a header of the authenticationtoken. The indexes may also be given as a header to each portion. FIG. 9shows three examples for such authentication tokens, where a seed isgiven in a header, four indexes are given in a header and where the fourindexes are given as headers to each portion. In all three examples, theseed is 24, and the indexes are 3, 7, 13 and 16 and the correspondingportions are “as”, “or”, “lp” and “it” respectively.

It should be noted, as in the above, that the example indexes andportion lengths as well as the length of the metadata string MTS aremade short to illustrate the teachings herein more easily.

By only sending portions of the meta data it is assured that a terminal100 and a server 340 may be authenticated without wasting bandwidth andwithout divulging sensitive information as only portions of the metadata are transmitted.

An authentication token AT may then be authenticated by simply comparingthe portions to corresponding portions in the meta data. Thecorresponding portions are retrieved through the indexes which areeither received as part of the authentication token or retrieved as afunction of the seed which is part of the authentication token.

The indexes may also be given based on a timed function, such as thetime of day or a counter. The counter has to be incremented at a speedduring which an authentication token may be generated, sent andreceived.

FIG. 10A shows a general flowchart for generating an authenticationtoken according to the teachings herein and FIG. 10B shows a generalflowchart for authenticating an authentication token according to theteachings herein.

An authentication token AT is generated by generating at least one index1010. The number of indexes may vary within an implementation and alsobetween implementations as has been discussed above. In one embodimentthe number of indexes is 4.

The indexes may be generated as randomly chosen numbers, or through arandomly chosen seed being used with a function.

Thereafter at least one portion is retrieved 1020 from a larger dataset, such as the meta data (MTS in FIG. 9) and packaged along with theindexes (or the seed) in a data structure 1030 such as shown in FIG. 9.

As an authentication token is received 1040, the indexes are retrieved1050 (either from the authentication token or by using a function basedon a seed) and the corresponding portion(s) are retrieved 1060 from alocally stored data set, such as the meta data. The correspondingportion(s) are then compared 1080 to the received portion(s) and if theymatch the authentication token is authenticated.

The comparison may be made bitwise or by any other known comparison. Abitwise comparison has the benefit that it is fast to execute.

If an index is chosen to be too close to an end of the data set so thatthere are not enough characters or bits left to complete a portion,further or missing characters or bits may be taken from the start of thedata set, i.e. the data set is looped.

In the above no difference has been made between a data set containingcharacters and a data set containing bits. As would be understood by askilled person such entities may easily be replaced within the scope ofthe teachings herein.

For a meta data set of 8192 bits and with four portions or chunks ofeach 96 bits an authentication token of 4×96+4×13 (an index needs to beat least 13 bits to properly address 8192 bits)=436 bits. So not only issending the authentication token alone safer than sending the meta dataas the meta data is kept secret, the bandwidth needed is also reduced byapproximately 95%.

In one embodiment, the index is chosen to be able to address more thanthe meta data and the corresponding portion can then easily be found byaddressing the meta data at the index modula the metadata size. In theexample of the meta data having 8192 bits, the address to retrieve aportion is thus to be found at the index modula 8192.

As is clear from the description above an authentication token may begenerated and authenticated by both a terminal and a server. In fact, anauthentication token may be generated by any computing device, theterminals of FIGS. 1 and 2 and the server of FIG. 3 being examples ofsuch a computing device. An external device may also be such a computingdevice.

Returning to FIGS. 7 and 8 and the mutual authentication, as the server340 has authenticated the authentication token AT 1-S received from thefirst terminal 100 a, the server generates 720 one authentication tokenAT S-1 directed to the first terminal 100 a and one authentication tokenAT S-2 directed to the second terminal 100 b and sends 725 bothauthentication tokens AT S-1, AT S−2 to the first terminal 100 a.

In one embodiment, the server 340 encrypts the authentication token ATS-2 directed for the second terminal 100 b. The authentication token maybe encrypted using a portion of the meta data for the second terminal100 b and in such an embodiment, the authentication token may beconfigured to comprise a further field indicating an encryption indexwhich indicates where in the meta data the encryption key for encryptingthe authentication token is to be found. The encryption index istherefore transmitted unencrypted. This prevents any malicious attackerposing as the second terminal 100 b from decrypting the authenticationtoken AT S-2.

As the first terminal 100 a receives 730 the two authentication tokensAT S-1 and AT S-2, the first terminal 100 a authenticates 735 the firstauthentication token AT S-1 received from the server 340.

As the first terminal 100 a does not have access to the secondterminal's 100 b meta data it cannot authenticate the secondauthentication token AT S-2 received from the server 340. However, bythe server 340 sending an authentication token aimed at the secondterminal 100 b to the first terminal 100 a, an additional authenticationof the server 340 is achieved through the second terminal 100 b.

If the authentication of the first authentication token AT S-1 receivedfrom the server 340 is successful, the first terminal 100 b proceedswith the additional authentication which is effected by the secondterminal 100 b. To this end, the first terminal sends 740 the secondauthentication token AT S-2 received from the server 340 to the secondterminal 100 b. The second terminal 100 b receives and authenticates 745the authentication token AT S-2. If the authentication is successful,the server 340 has been authenticated through both the first terminal100 a and the second terminal 100 b. A mutual authentication of a highdegree of security has thus been achieved.

However, by realizing that if a malicious scam operator has been able tohijack a communication channel between the first terminal 100 a and theserver 340, the authentication token for the second terminal 2 couldpotentially also be compromised. In order to increase the security ofthe authentication even further, the second terminal 100 b isadvantageously configured to also authenticate the server 340.

As the second terminal 100 b has authenticated the authentication tokenAT S-2 received from the server 340 through the first terminal 100 a andaimed for the second terminal 100 b, the second terminal proceeds toauthenticate the server 340 using its own communication channel to theserver 340.

The second terminal therefore generates an authentication token AT 2-Sfor the server 340 and sends 750 it to the server 340. The server 340receives the authentication token AT 2-S and authenticates it 755. Ifthe authentication is successful, then the second terminal 100 b isauthenticated by the server 340 and the server 340 generates 760 oneauthentication token AT S-1 directed to the first terminal 100 a and oneauthentication token AT S-2 directed to the second terminal 100 b andsends 765 both authentication tokens AT S-1, AT S-2 to the secondterminal 100 b.

As the second terminal 100 b receives 770 the two authentication tokensAT S-1 and AT S-2, the second terminal 100 b authenticates the secondauthentication token AT S-2 received from the server 340, and ifsuccessful sends 775 the second authentication token AT S-1 to the firstterminal 100 a which authenticates 780 the authentication token AT S-1aimed for it received from the server 340 through the second terminal100 b.

Not only is the server 340 thus authenticated by the first terminal 100a, but it is also authenticated on behalf of the first terminal 100 a bythe second terminal 100 b. The two terminals thus assist each other inauthenticating the server 340. Furthermore, the second terminal 100 b isauthenticated implicitly by the first terminal 100 through theauthentication tokens received from the server 340 via the secondterminal 100 b. Also, the server 340 is authenticated using twodifferent communication channels thereby making it very hard for a scamoperator to maliciously identify itself as the security server 340.

Generation of a Symmetric Encryption Key

As the two terminals 100 and the server 340 have been authenticated, asymmetric encryption key is generated. With reference to FIG. 5, aterminal 100 receives 515 key generation data when it is installed andbased on this generates 516 key data. The key data is to be used forgenerating a symmetric encryption key as will be disclosed below. Thesymmetric encryption key is to be used encrypting for communicationbetween a first terminal 100 a and a second terminal 100 b. The firstterminal 100 a may be, as in the above, a client to a secure service,and the second terminal 100 b may be the provider of the service.

Alternatively, the first terminal 100 a may be an external device 245 tobe connected to an apparatus 300, wherein the second terminal 100 brepresents the apparatus 300.

The key data generated is known only to the first terminal 100 a and theserver 340 and the second terminal 100 b does not know of this key data.This enables for an increased security as the communication connectionto be established is established without exchanging respectiveterminal's key data, thus making it difficult for a malicious scamoperator to intercept any key data.

For this purpose, the inventors have devised a simple and clever mannerof producing a symmetric encryption key from the respective terminal'skey data without actually sharing the key data.

FIG. 11 shows a flowchart for a method of generating such a symmetricencryption key and FIG. 12 is a schematic overview of the transmissionsbeing done during the generation of a symmetric encryption key accordingto the teachings herein.

The first terminal 100 a starts by sending a request for a symmetricencryption key to be generated 580. This request may be sent as part ofa session setup request as per FIG. 5 or it may be sent on its own. Therequest may also be implicit in previous requests. The server 340 thenproceeds with generating 581 a first processing file PF1, which isreturned 582 to the first terminal 100 a.

The first terminal 100 a then extracts 583 a combined key data from thefirst processing file PF1. The first terminal 100 a then generates afirst random key seed which is encrypted and sent to the second terminal584. The second terminal 100 b also sends a request 580 for generating asymmetric encryption key to the server 340 and the server 340 generatesand sends 585 a second processing file PF2 to the second terminal 100 b.

The second terminal 100 b then extracts 586 the combined key data fromthe second processing file PF2 and generates a second random key seedwhich is sent 587 to the first terminal 100 a. Both the first and thesecond terminals 100 then generates the symmetric encryption key, eachon their own 588, 589.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart for a general method according to herein forgenerating a processing file PF from the key data for two terminals. Thekey data for a first terminal will be referenced KD1 and the key datafor a second terminal will be referenced KD2.

As a processing file is to be generated 581, a combined key data(referenced CKD) is generated 5811 as a bitwise AND operation on the keydatas for each terminal, that is:

-   -   CKD=KD1 AND KD2.

The inverse of the key data for the relevant terminal is then generated5812, I.E. ˜KD is generated and subjected 5813 to a function F whereeach 1 bit is changed to a 0 bit with a probability of for example 10%,25%, 50% or a probability in any of the ranges of 10-80%, 20-70% or25-50%. The resultant changed bit string may be referenced as F(˜KD).The processing file is then generated 5814 as the logical OR between thecombined key data and the resultant changed bit string. That is:

-   -   PF1=CKD OR F(˜KD1)=(KD1 AND KD2) OR F(˜KD1), and    -   PF2=CKD OR F(˜KD2)=(KD1 AND KD2) OR F(˜KD2)

The generated processing file PF is thus completely different from thekey data and also from the combined key data and as such, the respectivekey data are kept secret from the other terminal and both the combinedkey data and the respective key data are kept secret from the outsideworld.

As the processing file has been received, the combined key data isextracted (583/586 in FIG. 11) by simply performing the logical orbitwise AND of the processing file and the key data of the respectiveterminal, that is:

-   -   CKD=PF1 AND KD1 and    -   CKD=PF2 AND KD2.

In order to illustrate the above, an example is presented below. Itshould be noted that the example is restricted to 8 bits forillustrative purposes, whereas in a real life implementation longerstrings should be used, for example 128 bits, 256, 512, 1024 bits asmore bits provides for a higher security.

EXAMPLE

KD1 10001110 KD2 01111101 CKD = KD1 AND KD2 00001100 ~KD1 01110001F(~KD1) 01010000 PF1 = CKD OR F(~KD1) 01011100

Extraction

CKD = PF1 AND KD1 00001100

As the combined key data has been extracted, while maintaining itsecurely hidden in the processing file during transmission, thesymmetric encryption key is to be generated. FIG. 14 is a flowchart ofan example manner for generating the symmetric encryption key accordingto the teachings herein.

The symmetric encryption key is finally generated 588/589 by bothterminals 100, by inputting the combined key data and a random key seedpreviously generated (584 for the first terminal and 587 for the secondterminal) for each terminal as seeds in a function such as acryptographic hash function or an exclusive or function (XOR) 5801 foreach terminal 100. In one embodiment, the function is to repeat therandom key seed 8 times to become an extended random key seed of forexample 512 bits and perform an exclusive OR function on the combinedkey data and the extended random key seed. The half Symmetric Key iscreated as 128 bits taken from the XORed value possibly using a modulofunction. This step is performed by both terminals 100 having receivedthe other terminal's random key seed previously. In one embodiment, theresult is a bit string of for example 128 bits for each terminal and thetwo bits strings are concatenated 5802 into the thereby generatedsymmetric encryption key.

The symmetric encryption key is the result of the session setup and isto be used during the communication between the first terminal 100 a andthe second terminal 100 b for encoding and decoding the communication.

It should be noted that even though the flows for the mutualauthentications and for generating the symmetric encryption keys havebeen disclosed as separate flows they may be parts of the same flow anddata to be sent in transmissions in either flow may be combined into acommon transmission to reduce bandwidth and also parallelise theauthentication flow.

Mutation of the Key Data

To protect against malicious attacker trying to hijack key data or otherencryption data, a simple solution of mutating or changing the key datais proposed by the inventors of this application. It should be notedthat the meta data, the key data and the symmetric encryption key mayall be mutated individually or collectively.

In one embodiment, the meta data is mutated once a day as it is mainlyused for authentication purposes.

In one embodiment, the key data is mutated at every session setup or atintervals or upon prompts from the first terminal during a session.

In one embodiment, the symmetric encryption key is mutated at intervalsor upon prompts from the first terminal during a session.

One way to mutate the symmetric encryption key is to set up a newsession. During the session setup the key data will be mutated and hencealso the symmetric encryption key. However, this consumes both computerresources and time to perform a complete session setup. A faster way isto only mutate the symmetric encryption key. This is only done at theterminals; the server is not involved.

It is up to the secure application to decide when the mutation is to bedone. In a chat application, for instance, it might be appropriate tomutate the symmetric encryption key for each message that is sent to theother terminal. In an application that is time critical it might bebetter to perform the mutation at, for instance, every tenth package, ornot at all.

It is up to the initiating terminal (sender) to control whether a newpackage should have a mutated Symmetric Encryption Key or not. This isdone by adding a version number, the Symmetric Encryption Key Version,to each communication package. If the initiating terminal wants to usethis feature then it must increase the variable for each package that issent.

The Symmetric Encryption Key Version is initially set to 0 at serversetup. If the sender never changes this value no mutation will takeplace. If the sender, on the other hand, for instance uses the values 3,7, 13, 14 in the first four packages then the responding terminal needsto mutate 3, 4, 6, 1 times for the respective package.

The receiving first terminal always checks the version number of eachcommunication package it receives. If it has been changed then thereceiving terminal has to mutate the Symmetric Encryption Keyaccordingly before decrypting the message. If the value is larger thanthe previous package then it just mutates the appropriate number oftimes. If it is smaller, then it must use the Symmetric Encryption Keywith Symmetric Encryption Key Version=0 and start all over again.

The mutation of the Symmetric Encryption Key may be done using the 512bit cryptographic hash function using the current Symmetric EncryptionKey as input.

Overview of the System

FIG. 15 shows a schematic overview of the system communication accordingto the teachings herein. The system 300 shown in FIG. 15 may be a system300 or apparatus 300 as described above.

The first terminal 100 a initiates the setup with the server 340 and thesecond terminal 100 b, which is a responding terminal, as has beendisclosed above with reference to FIGS. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10A, 10B, 11, 12,13 and 14.

As the symmetric encryption key has been generated the first terminal100 a and the second terminal 100 b can communicate securely over thecommunication channel established.

One benefit of the teachings herein is that a symmetric encryption keymay be generated by both communicating terminals without having to shareit between the terminals or other devices.

The invention has mainly been described above with reference to a fewembodiments. However, as is readily appreciated by a person skilled inthe art, other embodiments than the ones disclosed above are equallypossible within the scope of the invention, as defined by the appendedpatent claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A system comprising a first terminal and asecond terminal, wherein the first terminal having a first hardwareprocessor configured to initiate a communication session with the secondterminal by: sending a first session request to a server for initiatinga communication channel with the second terminal; receiving a firstsession response from the server, said first response including anidentifier for a session channel and a combination of key data for thefirst terminal and key data for the second terminal; sending a secondsession request to the second terminal including an identifier and a keyencryption seed for the first terminal; receiving a third sessionresponse from the second terminal, said third session response includinga key encryption seed for the second terminal; and establishing aconnection over the session channel, and wherein the first terminal isfurther configured to authenticate the server by: generating a firstauthentication token (AT), being a data structure to be used forauthenticating a first computing device, such as a terminal to a secondcomputing device, such as a server; and sending the first authenticationtoken (AT) to the server; wherein the second terminal has a secondprocessor and is configured to perform: receiving the second sessionrequest from the first terminal; sending a third session request to theserver for initiating a communication channel with said first terminal;receiving a second session response from the server, said secondresponse including the identifier for the session channel and acombination of key data for the first terminal and key data for thesecond terminal; sending said third session response to the firstterminal; and establishing a connection over the session channel,whereby a communication channel is established between the first and thesecond terminal over the session channel, and wherein the server isconfigured to perform: receiving the first authentication token (AT) andauthenticate it; generating a second authentication token for the firstterminal; and send the second authentication token (AT) to the firstterminal, whereby the first terminal is further configured to perform:receiving the second authentication token (AT) and authenticate it,thereby performing a mutual authentication of the first terminal and theserver, and wherein the server is further configured to generate a thirdauthentication token for the second terminal and send it to the firstterminal, wherein the first terminal is further configured to performreceiving the third authentication token (AT) and sending it to thesecond terminal, wherein the second terminal is configured to performreceiving and authenticating the third authentication token therebyperforming an authentication of the server and the first terminal, andwherein the first terminal is further configured to generate a samesymmetric encryption key based on the key encryption seed for the firstterminal and the combination of key data for the first terminal and keydata for the second terminal in combination with the key encryption seedfor the second terminal and the combination of key data for the firstterminal and key data for the second terminal, and the second terminalis further configured to generate a symmetric encryption key based onthe key encryption seed for the second terminal and the combination ofkey data for the first terminal and key data for the second terminal incombination with and the key encryption seed for the first terminal andthe combination of key data for the first terminal and key data for thesecond terminal, whereby the same symmetric encryption key is generatedfor the first terminal and the second terminal.
 2. The system accordingto claim 1, wherein the first terminal is configured to be installed inthe system by the server being configured to: identify the firstterminal; generate key generation data comprising at least one dataseed; distribute the at least one data seed to the first terminal;generate key data and meta data based on said at least one data seed anda function, such as a cryptographic hash function; store an identifierfor the first terminal along with the key data and the meta data for thefirst terminal, wherein the first terminal is arranged to: receive theat least one data seed from the server; generate key data and meta databased on said at least one data seed and the same function; and storethe key data and the meta data, wherein the key data and the meta datastored in the first terminal are the same as the key data and the metadata stored in the server.
 3. The system according to claim 1, whereinthe server is configured to: generate a first processing file (PF1) forthe first terminal based on the key data for the first terminal (KD1)and a combination (CKD) of key data for the first terminal (KD1) and keydata for the second terminal (KD2); generate a second processing file(PF2) for the second terminal based on the key data for the secondterminal (KD2) and a combination (CKD) of key data for the firstterminal (KD1) and key data for the second terminal (KD2); and send thefirst processing file (PF1) to the first terminal and the secondprocessing file to the second terminal; wherein the first terminal isconfigured to: receive the first processing file (PF1); extract combinedkey data (CKD) from the first processing file (PF1); generate a firstrandom key seed and send it to the second terminal; receive a secondrandom key seed from the second terminal; wherein the second terminal isconfigured to: receive the second processing file (PF2); extractcombined key data (CKD) from the second processing file (PF2); generatethe second random key seed and send it to the first terminal; receivethe first random key seed from the first terminal; whereby the firstterminal and the second terminal are each configured to: input thecombined key data (CKD) and the first random seed into a function; inputthe combined key data (CKD) and the second random seed into the samefunction; and concatenate the results of the functions into thesymmetric encryption key, each terminal thereby generating each copy ofthe symmetric encryption key.
 4. The system according to claim 1,wherein the first terminal the second terminal and/or the server arearranged to generate an authentication token (AT) being a data structureto be used for authenticating a first computing device, such as aterminal to a second computing device, such as a server, wherein thefirst terminal, the second terminal and/or the server are configured to:generate at least one index; retrieve a portion of the meta data (MTS),the portion being a portion of the data set starting at a position inthe data set given by the index; and include the portion in theauthentication token (AT).
 5. The system according to claim 1, whereinthe first terminal the second terminal and/or the server are arranged toauthenticate an authentication token being a data structure to be usedfor authenticating one of the first terminal, the second terminal and/orthe server to another one of the first terminal, the second terminaland/or the server, wherein the first terminal, the second terminaland/or the server are configured to: receive an authentication tokenfrom another of the first terminal, the second terminal and/or theserver; retrieve at least one index; retrieve corresponding portion(s)from the meta data (MTS); compare the corresponding portion(s) toportion(s) in the authentication token; and authenticate the other ofthe first terminal, the second terminal and/or the server if thecorresponding portion(s) match(es) the portion(s) of the authenticationtoken.
 6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the system is anapparatus comprising at least one second terminal and the first terminalis an external device to be connected to the second terminal.
 7. Thesystem according to claim 6, wherein said apparatus is configured forexecuting a server application.
 8. The system according to claim 6,wherein said apparatus is configured for communicating with the server.9. A method for establishing a secure communication channel in a systemcomprising a first terminal and a second terminal, wherein the methodcomprises: the first terminal sending a first session request to aserver for initiating a communication channel with the second terminal;the first terminal receiving a first session response from the server,said first response including an identifier for a session channel and acombination of key data for the first terminal and key data for thesecond terminal; the first terminal sending a second session request tothe second terminal including an identifier and a key encryption seedfor the first terminal; the first terminal generating a firstauthentication token (AT), being a data structure to be used forauthenticating a first computing device, such as a terminal to a secondcomputing device, such as a server; the first terminal sending the firstauthentication token (AT) to the server; the second terminal receivingthe second session request from the first terminal; the second terminalsending a third session request to the server for initiating acommunication channel with said first terminal; the second terminalreceiving a second session response from the server, said secondresponse including the identifier for the session channel and acombination of key data for the first terminal and key data for thesecond terminal; the second terminal sending a third session response tothe first terminal, said third session response including a keyencryption seed for the second terminal; the first terminal receivingsaid third session response from the second terminal; the first terminalestablishing a connection over the session channel and the secondterminal establishing a connection over the session channel, whereby acommunication channel is established between the first and the secondterminal over the session channel; the server receiving the firstauthentication token (AT) and authenticate it; the server generating asecond authentication token for the first terminal; the server sendingthe second authentication token (AT) to the first terminal; the firstterminal receiving the second authentication token (AT) and authenticateit, thereby performing a mutual authentication of the first terminal andthe server; the server generating a third authentication token (AT) forthe second terminal; the server sending the third authentication token(AT) to the first terminal, the first terminal receiving the thirdauthentication token (AT) and sending it to the second terminal, and thesecond terminal receiving and authenticating the third authenticationtoken (AT) thereby performing an authentication of the server and thefirst terminal and wherein the method further comprises: the firstterminal generating the same symmetric encryption key based on the keyencryption seed for the first terminal and the combination of key datafor the first terminal and key data for the second terminal incombination with the key encryption seed for the second terminal and thecombination of key data for the first terminal and key data for thesecond terminal, and the second terminal generating a symmetricencryption key based on the key encryption seed for the second terminaland the combination of key data for the first terminal and key data forthe second terminal in combination with the key encryption seed for thefirst terminal and the combination of key data for the first terminaland key data for the second terminal, whereby the same symmetricencryption key is generated for the first terminal and the secondterminal, and wherein the first terminal and second terminal have atleast one hardware processor.
 10. A non-transitory computer readablestorage medium encoded with instructions that, when executed on by oneor more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform:sending, by a first terminal, a first session request to a server forinitiating a communication channel with the second terminal; receiving,by the first terminal a first session response from the server, saidfirst response including an identifier for a session channel and acombination of key data for the first terminal and key data for thesecond terminal; sending, by the first terminal, a second sessionrequest to the second terminal including an identifier and a keyencryption seed for the first terminal; generating, by the firstterminal, a first authentication token (AT), being a data structure tobe used for authenticating a first computing device such as a terminalto a second computing device, such as a server; sending, by the firstterminal, the first authentication token (AT) to the server; receiving,by the second terminal, the second session request from the firstterminal; sending, by the second terminal, a third session request tothe server for initiating a communication channel with said firstterminal; receiving, by the second terminal, a second session responsefrom the server, said second response including the identifier for thesession channel and a combination of key data for the first terminal andkey data for the second terminal; sending, by the second terminal, athird session response to the first terminal, said third sessionresponse including a key encryption seed for the second terminal;receiving, by the first terminal, said third session response from thesecond terminal; establishing, by the first terminal, a connection overthe session channel and the second terminal establishing a connectionover the session channel, whereby a communication channel is establishedbetween the first and the second terminal over the session channel;receiving, by the server, the first authentication token (AT) andauthenticate it; generating, by the server, a second authenticationtoken for the first terminal; sending, by the server, the secondauthentication token (AT) to the first terminal; receiving, by the firstterminal, the second authentication token (AT) and authenticate it,thereby performing a mutual authentication of the first terminal and theserver; generating, by the server, a third authentication token (AT) forthe second terminal; sending, by the server, the third authenticationtoken (AT) to the first terminal, receiving, by the first terminal, thethird authentication token (AT) and sending it to the second terminal,and receiving and authenticating, by the second terminal, the thirdauthentication token (AT) thereby performing an authentication of theserver and the first terminal and wherein the method further comprises:generating, by the first terminal, the same symmetric encryption keybased on the key encryption seed for the first terminal and thecombination of key data for the first terminal and key data for thesecond terminal in combination with the key encryption seed for thesecond terminal and the combination of key data for the first terminaland key data for the second terminal, and generating, by the secondterminal, a symmetric encryption key based on the key encryption seedfor the second terminal and the combination of key data for the firstterminal and key data for the second terminal in combination with thekey encryption seed for the first terminal and the combination of keydata for the first terminal and key data for the second terminal,whereby the same symmetric encryption key is generated for the firstterminal and the second terminal.